A developer team that includes UAE-based Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has submitted the lowest bid for a contract to develop the 2,000MW Al-Sadawi solar independent power project (IPP) in Saudi Arabia.

The consortium, which includes South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and China's GD Power Development, submitted a levelised cost of electricity of hals 4.847 ($c1.29) a kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the contract to develop the scheme, which is located in the Eastern Province.

The second-lowest bidder is a team that includes China's SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development and France's EDF Renewables, which offered to develop the project for $c1.31/kWh.

Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) received six proposals from companies for the contracts to develop and operate four solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP projects in Saudi Arabia in August.

The projects, which have a total combined capacity of 3,700MW, are being tendered under the fifth procurement round of the kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).

According to SPPC, the lowest and second-lowest bidders in the remaining schemes under round five of the NREP are:

Al-Masaa solar IPP (Hail): 1,000MW

• L1: SPIC/EDF Renewables (France): $c1.36/kWh
• L2: AlJomaih Energy & Water (local) / TotalEnergies Renewables (France): $c1.40/kWh

Al-Hinakiyah 2 solar IPP (Medina): 400MW

• L1: SPIC/EDF: $c1.51/kWh
• L2: Masdar/Kepco/Nesma:  $c1.57/kWh

Rabigh 2 solar IPP (Mecca): 300MW

• L1: AlJomaih Energy & Water / TotalEnergies Renewables: $c1.78/kWh
• L2: Masdar/Kepco/Nesma: $c1.89/kWh

Saudi utility developer Acwa Power is not among the 23 companies that were prequalified to bid for the fifth round of NREP projects.

US/India-based Synergy Consulting is providing financial advisory services to SPPC for the NREP fifth-round tender. Germany's Fichtner Consulting is providing technical consultancy services.

The round five solar PV IPPs take the total capacity of publicly tendered renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia to over 10,300MW. Solar PV IPPs account for 79%, or about 8,100MW, of the total capacity.

Four wind IPPs, one of which has yet to be awarded, account for the remaining capacity.

SPPC is procuring 30% of the kingdom's target renewable energy by 2030. Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is procuring the rest through the Price Discovery Scheme. The PIF has appointed Acwa Power, which it partly owns, as principal partner for these projects.

The Saudi Energy Ministry recently said that the kingdom plans to procure 20,000MW of renewable energy capacity annually, starting this year and until 2030.